Halloween
by littledarkone
Summary: Angel and Collins meet for the first time at a Halloween party. written for speedrent. CollinsAngel sort of, RogerApril, MarkMaureen.


Today was Halloween. It wasn't really Collins' favorite holiday, but it was a chance for him to escape reality. Today was the one day a year when he could adopt a façade and pretend he wasn't a struggling out-of-work bisexual teacher who lived with his four best friends. He could escape his cold, harsh Bohemian lifestyle and become anything, anyone, he wanted, if only for one night. Halloween offered not only candy and costumes, but freedom.

This year, he was dressed as a vampire. He had a high-necked cloak draped over his tall frame, a dusty old suit he never wore, and fake fangs, which were almost already falling out.

Collins looked at the clock. Seven thirty p.m. In half an hour, the annual costume party at the Life Café would begin. Roger and April, a part-time waitress and Roger's girlfriend were already downtown setting up the party. Mark and Maureen were in the bedroom, presumably getting ready. Benny was sitting at the kitchen table, his head bent over last week's newspaper crossword puzzle. He was tapping the tip of his pencil against the table, chewing his lip and occasionally drinking from a near-empty bottle of beer. He was donned as a WWI army officer that was worn and two of the 'medals' were missing. It was the third year in a row he had worn that costume.

Collins chuckled, causing Benny to look and smirk.

"What's so amusing?" he asked.

Collins shrugged. "Nothing. I was just thinking that you really need a new costume."

Benny's smirk turned to a scowl. "Well if you want to go buy me one with your shit-load amount of money, be my guest." He tuned back to his crossword and downed the rest of his beer.

"Hey, I was just kidding around, Benny. Chill out." Without looking up, Benny grabbed hold of his empty beer bottle and chucked it at Collins. He ducked, the bottle just barely missing him. It smacked against the wall and shattered.

There was a shriek from the bedroom, a loud thump, an "Ow! God Maureen, did'ja have to just push me off the fuckin' bed?" and Maureen poked her head out the door. Her long, curly brown hair covered up what would have been a nice view of her breasts, and it was immediately obvious what she and Mark had been doing in the bedroom. Her eyes were wide.

"What the hell was that?" she asked.

Benny looked up again from his crossword and shrugged, facial expressions not betraying the laughter in his eyes. "I dunno. Something must have fallen."

Collins laughed and sat on the couch. Maureen frowned and looked around. Her eyes settled on the shattered pieces of the bottle and she turned back to Benny.

"Benjamin, what did I said about throwing things?" Her voice was angry, but her eyes crinkled in silent laughter. Benny shrugged again.

"Must've slipped. Sorry." Both Maureen and Collins laughed outright at this, and even Benny smirked, doodling on the side of the newspaper.

"Go get ready or we'll be late," Collins told her, making a shoo-ing motion with his hand. She rolled her eyes and disappeared back into the bedroom.

"C'mon Mark," he heard her say. "We gotta get ready."

"Hold on," Mark replied. "Just lemme find my underwear."

Collins snorted and he heard Benny's forehead smack the table as he succumbed to silent laughter.

About ten minutes they emerged, holding hands. Maureen was dressed in a tight leather cat suit, complete with a tail and furry ears. Mark was dressed as...

"Mark? What the fuck are you wearing?"

Mark looked down at himself. "What, you don't like it?" He was wearing a huge pair of gold parachute pants and a black jacket buttoned half way up. "I'm MC Hammer."

"I...uh..." Collins looked to Benny for help, who merely dropped his head against the table again and erupted in laughter.

"I think it looks adorable, Pookie," Maureen cooed, ruffling his hair and placing a kiss on his nose. "Now come on, let's go."  
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The walk to the Life Café was uneventful, only a couple blocks away from their rundown apartment. They spotted and met up with a couple friends living in neighboring building and soon, the jolly group reached the café, which was already packed to almost-full capacity. Blaring music and the smell of cigarette smoke and alcohol reached Collins' nose. He loved it.

Squeezing through the door, he spotted April and Roger sitting at a table for six, and led the others over towards them. Collins sat down next to Roger and Maureen next to him, Mark next to her, and Benny squeezing between Mark and April. She rose from the table and went to get drinks, returning a couple minutes later with a tray full of beer and shots of vodka and tequila.

Collins looked around the packed and smoky restaurant. People were dancing, bodies gyrating and the occasional kiss being shared. Taking a few swigs of his beer vodka wasn't really his thing he spotted a person at the bar. She was dressed in a bright red skirt and top with three-inch red stilettos. Horns were placed atop short, cropped black hair with streaks of red in it, and her eyes were obscured by a black mask. She was alone, but she seemed to radiate confidence. A cigarette smoldered in an ash tray next to two empty shot glasses and a plate of half eaten cheese fries.

Suddenly, she turned and looked straight at him. Collins felt a pang in his chest. It was obvious to him that she was actually a 'he', but he didn't care. She was beautiful.

"Hey," Maureen whispered to him. "Who's that?" She nodded discreetly to the figure at the bar, which was now focused on the dancers in front of the jukebox, the cigarette now in her hand. Collins shrugged.

"Well, why don't you go find out?" Roger prodded him roughly in the arm. Collins scoffed and turned back to the table, only to find the entire table staring at him.

Collins stared back. "What?"

"She's been staring at you since you walked in," said Mark, eyes slightly glazed over. There were two empty shots in front of him. Normally, that wouldn't have gotten him that drunk, but Mark hardly ever drank, and he was already small, so almost any amount would get him buzzed.

"What?" Collins frowned. "No she hasn't!"

"Go talk to her!" April hissed, ignoring his protest. "Quickly, before she leaves." Sighing, he stood up, took a shot of tequila, and made his way over.

"Hey." Collins was surprised his voice sounded so confident. She turned to look at him and smiled, the glitter around her eyes shimmering in the near-darkness of the café. She was even more beautiful up close. "Do you want to dance?"

Her smile broadened, and she nodded. He took her hand and led her to the dance floor. Wrapping his hands around her tiny waist, she did the same around his neck, and they began to dance. A slow '70's tune played on the jukebox.

_"We go to a party and everyone turns to see  
This beautiful lady that's walking around with me.   
And then she asks me, "Do you feel all right?"  
And I say, "Yes, I feel wonderful tonight."_

They didn't speak for several minutes. Words weren't needed to express the chemistry between them. They just moved in slow time to the music as another song started up.

_"Don't go changing, to try and please me  
You never let me down before  
Don't imagine you're too familiar  
And I don't see you anymore_

I wouldn't leave you in times of trouble  
We never could have come this far   
I took the good times, I'll take the bad times  
I'll take you just the way you are."

"Mm, I love Billy Joel." She spoke for the first time. Her voice was light, not betraying even in the slightest the masculinity buried deep within her.

"Me too," Collins replied, subtly pulling her a bit closer. She laughed, a tinkling, girlish giggle, and laid her head on his chest. Even in her heels, she was a bit shorter than him.

_"I said I love you and that's forever  
And this I promise from the heart  
I could not love you any better  
I love you just the way you are."_

The song ended and, being braver than he could remember being in a while, pressed a quick, light kiss to her lips. She smiled. Another song began, this one a quick tempo '80's dance tune.

_"Friday night and the lights are low  
Looking out for the place to go  
Where they play the right music, getting in the swing  
You come in to look for a king."_

"Ooh, I love this song!" she squealed, smiling widely. She began to seductively wag her hips against his, and brought herself even closer. She twirled once and ended up in his arms, where they danced together for several moments before a crash and a cry brought Collins' attention from the mysterious girl he was dancing with back to the table he previously occupied. Everyone was standing, and Mark, normally reserved, prude Mark was standing on the table belting out the words to "Can't Touch This" at the top of his lungs, doing a poor impression of MC's 'Hammer Time' dance.

"Oh...my God," Collins murmured. "Mark, what the fuck are you doing?"

"You know him?" she giggled quietly. Collins grimaced and nodded. Suddenly, April appeared out of nowhere and grabbed his arm.

"Come on, we got to go," she said, looking back nervously at the scene. Her boss had already showed up and was trying to drag Mark down off the table, to no avail. "If we don't leave I'm going to be fired."

"Alright, alright I'll be right there." April disappeared into the crowd, and he turned back to the girl. "I'm sorry, I've got to go."

She smiled. "It's okay, I understand. I'll see you around?"

"Yeah. See you around." He gazed into her eyes, pressed another kiss upon her lips, and quickly followed his friends out the door.

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"I cannot believe Mark got us kicked out of the Life Café," Collins grumbled, hands shoved deep inside his pockets as their group made their way down the block.

"I can't believe he drank as much as he did," Maureen sighed. She looked over at Roger and Benny, who had Mark propped up between them and were supporting him down the street. "Look at him, all adorable when he's passed out."

"Yeah, well remind me to kill him when he regains consciousness," Collins growled, glaring at Mark. "I didn't even get her name!"

"You were so cute, Collins," April punched him lightly on the arm. "She was totally diggin' your vibe."

He chucked. "Yeah? You think so?"

April nodded. "I know so, my good sir."

Collins beamed and lit a cigarette. He could only hope he'd see the mysterious girl around town. He could only hope...


End file.
